Agency’s first black leader remembered for Oklahoma City service, integrity
By Tanya Eiserer
The Dallas Morning News
Copyright 2006 The Dallas Morning News
Fort Worth Fire Chief Leonard Charles Gaines, 49, died Saturday of apparent natural causes at his home in Fort Worth, officials said late Saturday.
Hired by Fort Worth officials in 2002, Chief Gaines, was the city’s first black fire chief.
“Charles Gaines was much more than a fire chief,” said Lt. Joel Lavender, a Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman. “He was a leader with vision, a man of integrity, and the firefighting fraternity will truly miss him.”
According to Fort Worth fire officials, a friend stopped by the chief’s house Saturday afternoon after being unable to reach him by phone. She couldn’t get him to answer the door, so she called 911.
Firefighters forced their way into the home and discovered his body in bed. The cause of death is pending until an autopsy is completed.
The city has named Hugo Esparza as acting fire chief. He is a deputy chief over the department’s Executive Services Division.
Chief Gaines was Fort Worth’s 11th fire chief since 1893, according to the Fire Department’s Web site.
An Oklahoma City native, Chief Gaines began his fire service career in the mid-1970s in the Air Force as a crash rescue specialist.
He spent most of his career with the Oklahoma City Fire Department.
He had been promoted to deputy chief, overseeing safety operations, the year before the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed in 1995.
He was among the first fire personnel at the scene of the bombing and served as the department’s operations safety officer in the first 36 hours after the tragedy.
“He handled himself as a consummate professional during that time of stress,” Lt. Lavender said. “That has never been forgotten.”
Oklahoma City Deputy Fire Chief Tony Young said Chief Gaines always had a reputation for taking his job and safety seriously, and he also was well-liked.
The two remained in touch and spoke at an event about two months ago.
“He talked about how well things were going for the department down in Fort Worth,” his friend said. “He seemed very happy.”
Chief Gaines received a bachelor of science degree in human resource management from Southern Nazarene University in 1989 and a master’s degree in business administration in 2001 from Oklahoma City University.
Reports also said Chief Gaines was chosen to help rebuild the New Orleans Fire Department after Hurricane Katrina.